This invention relates to a method and apparatus for building borders or ridges on agricultural lands which are to be flood irrigated.
When growing crops such as alfalfa, rice and the like, in areas of the country where agricultural lands must be irrigated, such crops are usually irrigated by flooding, hence the term "flood irrigation". Efficient flood irrigation requires that the land be level and further that the land be broken up into small parcels (commonly called checks) with earthen ridges or borders around each of the parcels to contain the irrigation water. If the parcels are too large, the irrigation water will tend to permeate into the ground before progressing over the entire parcel, which is a very inefficient use of irrigation water. If a parcel is not level, the crop growth pattern will be uneven resulting in a loss in production.
The land on which such crops are grown in usually dedictated to these crops for several years, so land preparation prior to planting crops is very important. Very little can be done after planting to relevel the land and rebuilding large sections of ridges or borders is very labor intensive and expensive.
In the past, a variety of equipment has been used by farmers for building the containment borders or ridges needed for flood irrigation. For the most part, these devices have involved the use of blades or scrapers of some sort which scrape dirt off the surface of the field and direct the dirt into a mechanism which forms or builds the border or ridge. The borders and ridges constructed by the prior devices were not consistently strong and durable and frequently were subject to channeling and water penetration which allowed the loss of water to adjacent parcels. This of course increased the labor cost for the crop because of the increased maintenance of the ridges or borders and also reduced the production of such crops because of the unequal irrigation.
Farmers have long recognized the need for a simple, efficient and economical means for building strong, durable borders to facilitate flood irrigation. The present invention fulfills this need.